Newton's First Law of Motion

What does that mean? In plain English, anything moving will continue to move in a straight line until something interferes.

Let’s take a minute to digest that, and turn it into something of relevance to this newsletter.

Let’s say you are in a good mood, and you get a dose of life happening. Like you spill coffee on your whole outfit.

Good mood = straight line. Coffee spilled on entire outfit = what interferes in the straight line (good mood).

It works the other way around too.

Let’s say you’re in a bad mood for whatever reason, it could be anything. If you put yourself in motion, you will be less likely to be in a bad mood.

Let’s say you are overstimulated because your work texts keep going off, someone is asking you a question to your face, and you forgot to put gas in your car so now you have to scramble to get to your next appointment in time, and put gas in your car. What to do?

Easy. You give it your best effort and get it done.

The height of that stressful situation will go only so far, and you will slowly have the payoff of having put that garbage situation behind you. You address those who texted you so it’s not lingering over you, and you make it to the appointment. Even if you’re late, it’s not going to matter in 5 years.

Being overstimulated → bad mood = straight line. Taking action = what interferes in the straight line (overstimulated bad mood).

Gratitude and fear (or being pissed the fuck off) cannot coexist in the same space and time. You can tap into being pissed off to get things done. And on the other side lies the gratitude.

You can always interfere with overstimulation, fear, or anything else that prevents you from being fully present in gratitude. It’s different for everyone. Before you shut down and go into a blind rage, make sure you interfere with the situation by removing yourself temporarily from it. If you can’t do that and you’re in a room full of people? Make it known that you need a break. Don’t be shy about it either. No one thrives in those situations, no one likes being cornered. But no matter what, you have to take action and interfere with what got you there.

It’s a slippery slope to not give into going into a blind rage, and it’s your responsibility to keep it from getting to that point. Which is why I am an advocate for being blunt when it comes to telling others you need a break, even if it’s just to get some fresh air for 10 minutes.

No one will remember in 5 years that you needed to excuse yourself, but everyone will remember forever if you choose not to and the worst happens. Newton’s first law of motion is a good rule of thumb that allows cooler heads to prevail. Sometimes, those closest to us are the cause of our anxiety and overstimulation. People who you are most likely grateful to have in your life may cause you to feel overwhelmed, and not in a position to act out of gratitude. Be mindful of how you react to being overstimulated by even those people. Know what your triggers are and diffuse before anything happens. Be what interferes in your own bad moods. Clarity is power.